Is Southie “Walkable” enough?

Author and city planner, Jeff Speck, says that Boston doesn’t need his help in planning walkable communities-(Boston is in the top 10 in the world according to Lonely Planet).

But, in Southie, are the sidewalks wide enough for the stroller? Are there enough street trees to keep you cool during the summer? Are benches ample on the main streets so you can sit for a minute if you need too/want too? Is there enough interesting pedestrian activity? Are the crosswalks blocked by cars, parking lots bleeding into the sidewalk, and are garage doors obstructing visibility?

These are some of the questions the Planet Southie Walk Action Team wants to address. Come to the next meeting (3/28) to discuss plans for a Southie “Walkabiltiy Audit” to determine how comfortably and safely our streets and neighborhoods can be walked.

For more information, listen to this RadioBoston broadcast from December “Why Walkability Is Key To A City’s Vitality”

Planet Southie Transit Team Update

No. 7 Bus:
The transportation group has been collecting signatures on the proposal to move the No. 7 bus over from Summer Street to East First Street. We want now to arrange a meeting with Dave Carney from the MBTA to discuss our request. At the 3/28 meeting, we should plan that meeting, arrange to get more signatures to bring along with us, and prepare to introduce other recommendations for change in bus service in South Boston.

Southie Shuttle:
The start for a shuttle service on the First Street corridor has been scheduled for mid-April. We will see that is still on schedule and discuss details about pick-up locations, costs, and whatever else people want.

See ya Thursday,

Fred Gordon

Planet Southie Bikes Update

A brief update on what the Planet Southie Bikes Action team is up to. Thank you Jon Ramos for all of your amazing work!

•  City Hall Meeting: Planet Southie Bikes gains more recognition from Councilor At-Large Ayanna Pressley's office. We met at City Hall to discuss our goals, and how her bicycle crash data collection initiative could help us reach our goals.
  
• D-Street Development: Planet Southie Bikes attended the D-Street Development BRA community review meeting, and pressed hard for the BRA to go beyond a typical door-zone bike lane and opt for a cycle-track along the "super-block" instead. This just in! The bikes group got an official response from the City of Boston regarding our suggestions for the D Street plan. Pete Stidman from Boston Cyclist's Union will join our meeting once again to review the outcome and to help us plan our next steps.  If you want safer biking on D-Street in South Boston please be sure to attend this next meeting...  & bring your cyclist friends!

• 275 Albany Street Project: Planet Southie Bikes attended the BRA community review for the 275 Albany Street project in an effort to improve cycling over the bridges adjacent to their property (read more)

Next meeting (3/28) we'll discuss how to reach more of our fellow Southie cyclists to get more riders involved. Ideas welcome!

South Boston / South End

The 275 Albany Street Development project is one of many forthcoming developments stemming from the Harrison / Albany Strategic Master Plan that was created by the BRA in 2012. If you are unfamiliar with that master plan here is a brief summary:

The area along the 93 expressway, on the South End side, has been rezoned to allow greater heights and density. This was a tactic to make those underutilized plots of land more appealing to developers. Projects like the Ink Block, which will be a retail & supermarket destination, are among the projects coming out of this rezoning in addition to hundreds new residences, some restaurants, and hotel. Overall the re-zoning is a good thing for the city because it will reduce crime and enhance that grim section of our city along the elevated expressway. But there will be an impact on us. The Broadway Bridge will likely see significant increase in pedestrian traffic coming to the Broadway T Stop, as well as an increase bicycle and vehicle traffic.

Unsafe Bridges

Cyclists & Pedestrians: Join me TONIGHT at the 275 Albany Street's Boston Redevelopment Authority community meeting. We must let the BRA & the Developer know that safe bicycle & pedestrian access across the two bridges linking South Boston to the South End is CRITICAL. This new / large development is one of the many new large scale projects that have been made possible by the BRA's "Harrison/Albany Corridor Strategic Plan" that re-zoned the area to become more appealing to large scale developers. In that strategic plan, the BRA constantly mentions improving pedestrian & bicycling for that area, and connecting to South Boston. While some progress has happened, we have yet to see how the BRA defined "Green Corridors" make any real bicycle connection to South Boston. The two bridges are considered by Planet Southie Bikes to be the least safe roadways in our neighborhood, and yet they are among the most traveled roads because its the only way to reach the majority of the City of Boston.

Meeting is tonight, Feb 26th @ 6:30pm

1145 Washington Street, Suite #2, Boston MA

Project details here:
http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/calendar/scheduledet.asp?EventID=3329

see you there

Neighborhood Growth

Ever wonder where the boundaries of our neighborhood associations are? Ever wish there was an consolidated map showing the proposed construction projects in the area? Same with me! Check out the amazing interactive map that our South Boston Neighborhood Association Committee (SBNAC) has generated: https://www.sbnac.org/ProjectsMap.aspx


(Note: SBNAC neighborhood association boundary lines are "unofficial")

It's no secret, and made very clear in this map, is that South Boston is growing.... rapidly. To ensure that the neighborhood evolves and grows in a sustainable manner your voice and your opinions are needed.

Planet Southie Transportation Group Update

Planet Southie member Fred Gordon shared the following update about First Street bus service, shuttles, vans and more:

The Planet Southie Transit Action Team is working on transportation issues in South Boston. We started with the problem of bus transportation in the First Street area, but we’d like to gather together recommendations for transportation changes for the whole of South Boston.

First Street Bus Service: East First Street from Pappas Drive to Summer Street is between two bus routes. One of them—the No. 9—runs down Broadway and is a three block walk.  The other—the No. 7—runs along Summer and is about a half mile walk down E. First or along Pappas Drive. But the No. 7 bus could easily run down E. First. It now runs along Summer Street, and from E.

Announcing the South Boston Shuttle

Dennis Conway, a Planet Southie Transit Action Team member, shared the following update:

The South Boston Shuttle will be launched on Monday March 4th.  Service will be staged in three phases:

1. Dinner time restaurant shuttle to various South Boston restaurants (no charge to residents). Restaurants will be under contract to the shuttle service.
2. Free Senior Shuttle from 10-4 daily to South Boston business.
3. East-West First St., residential shuttle to South Station to start by mid-April.

Full details will be in the South Boston Today Newspaper next week!

Learn what else the transit team is up to here. 

Clarification: The Southie Shuttle is not organized by Planet Southie. Some of our transit team members were involved in starting it. For info, please visit www.southieshuttle.com or email Dennis Conway.

What is your "Walkscore"?

The following story was posted by Jessica Buhler, Planet Southie's Walk Action Team leader.

Neighborhoods with great "walkability" are better for your health, the environment, and the economy. I recently discovered a website, Walkscore.com, where you can type in a street address or walking route to find out how a particular area scores in regards to access to shops, parks, and transit (indicators of good walkability). 

Cars block sidewalk on East 4th Street

My address in South Boston scored an 80 (out of 100), primarily because the site noted that most errands can be accomplished on foot.  The site allows you to agree or disagree with their score and add in pictures and descriptions of items that may improve the score of the area.

Block length and number of intersections are considered when determining the score. However, whether or not there are safe and accessible sidewalks and crosswalks, if the weather is conducive for walking, and crime levels are not factored into the score.

Including that information would make the score more accurate. For instance, my area is very close to a grocery store and pharmacy (great for walkability). However, because the stores have huge parking lots with no buffers, the cars often park onto the sidewalk and become high car traffic areas that make it less safe and enjoyable for walkers.

Check out your score on walkscore.com and let us know if you agree or disagree.

For more reading, check out an article about planner, architect and author Jeff Speck's book "Walkable City" and his 10-step approach to create walkable urban areas. 

Learn more about better walking, biking, transit and more at the next Planet Southie meeting:

Thursday, February 28^th  6:30 - 7:30 pm

The Distillery Building
516 East Second Street, South Boston

(All are welcome and encouraged to attend)

A & D Street Bike Lane Design Review

Jon Ramos, one of Planet Southie Bike Action Team's most active members, posted the below story.

Great news Southie Cyclists: we’ll soon be getting some bicycle infrastructure on A-Street & D-Street.  What does that mean exactly?  Well, the City’s current plan is a mixture of bike lanes, buffered bike lanes, sharrows, and perhaps even cycle-tracks making the crucial link between Dot Ave to the Seaport.

Overall the City’s plan is a great start, but there is room for further improvement and several ways to make the bike lanes safer… but we need your help if we want to see these improvements made. 

As the voice of cyclists in South Boston the City will listen to our feedback.  We need a good turnout at the next meeting to review the plans and come to a conclusion for which sections should be changed. 

To help us through this process Pete Stidman, director of The Boston Cyclists Union, will be attending our next meeting.  Pete has extensive knowledge of bike lane planning, and can help guide us through the process of discussing our conclusions with the City.  If you want to see positive change, and make cycling safer in South Boston then now is the time to act.

See you at the next Planet Southie meeting:

Thursday, February 28^th at 6:30pm

The Distillery Building
516 East Second Street, South Boston

(All are welcome and encouraged to attend)